ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTE: While this is not an actual road test (this article predates the Notchback GTA's introduction by some nine months) per 'se, I have included it in this section because it is the first mention of the car.... complete with an accompanying illustration.... in the automotive media that I have been able to uncover.
- In what will likely go down as one of the General's least
ambitious styling updates, Pontiac reportedly plans to fit a notch-type lift
back
to its Firebird GTA for model year 1988. This illustration, prepared from
in-house artwork, shows what the finished product should look like. This
change is currently slated to appear only on the 5.7-liter 'Vette-motored GTA,
although the hardware is likely interchangeable model to model throughout the
F-Body lineup. Remember the startlingly interesting Firebird Sport Wagon that
Pontiac showed a couple of years ago? That, too, was a glass and
fiberglass backlight replacement, but it increased useable interior/cargo space
and certainly created a more intriguing and distinctive model addition than this
particular exercise."
ADMIN NOTE #2: While the author's slant towards the car is obviously not.... shall we say, positively inspired...., the illustration of a sky-blue GTA Notchback isn't exactly an image that gets one's heart to racing, exactly. Despite the fact that the image of the car is dead on for accuracy and it is a wonderful drawing by renowned auto artist Duane Kuchar.... a more exciting color would have provided for a more exciting illustration and displayed the car's lines more to an advantage. If this was my first exposure to the car, I'd most likely have turned my nose up as well....
